More than 2.9 million jobs were created last year, according to the latest figures from the Department of Labor.

It's encouraging news as the U.S. tries to put the Great Recession and sluggish recovery solidly behind it. Many economists expect 2015 to be equally as strong, if not better, for job seekers.

The unemployment rate fell to 5.6% in December, down 5.8% in November. That's also a big drop from the 6.7% rate in December 2013. It's expected to hit 5.2% -- around the normal level -- by the end of the year, according to CNNMoney's survey of economists.

Throughout the recovery, the concern has been that America was adding jobs slowly and people hunting for work were getting so frustrated they would drop out of the workforce altogether.

But the U.S. added over 200,000 jobs every month in 2014 except two. The end of the year was especially strong with 252,000 positions added in December. That was ahead of CNNMoney's economist forecast of 236,000.